Piranha beetles were colorfully-shelled carnivorousinsects that lived on the jungle moon of Yavin 4. Though they were only three centimeters long, they gathered in large swarms which could kill much larger prey by eating the flesh directly off living beings.

A Piranha beetle.

Piranha beetle swarms built hives made from chewed vegetation and saliva in Yavin 4's treetops. Each hive had a queen that led the hive's reproductive and food-gathering activities.

The Alliance to Restore the Republic's base on Yavin 4 was sprayed with chemical insecticide to keep the voracious insects out. When Luke Skywalker established a Jedi Praxeum at the same location, he discovered that several of his students developed allergic reactions to the insecticides. He then used the Force to imprint the academy's perimeter with a sense of distaste and disorientation. This kept the beetle swarms away, but without the need for hazardous chemicals.

When Jacen Solo attended the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4, he kept two piranha beetles as pets. He kept them calm by using the Force.

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In the novel Darksaber, Palpatine says he rescued the beetles from Yavin 4 before the Death Star was supposed to destroy it, implying that they were collected shortly before the Battle of Yavin. In the "Refresher Reading" article in Star Wars Insider 92, it was stated that Mas Amedda had also collected them after the Clone Wars-era duel on Yavin 4 between Anakin Skywalker and Asajj Ventress.